


It was an accident.

by Haughtshit1



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, mentions of past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:00:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27215323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haughtshit1/pseuds/Haughtshit1
Summary: Person 1 teaching Person 2 how to swim, after they stated they knew how to swim and Person 1 yeeted them into the pool. Person 1 now feels like they’re obligated to teach them how to swim, although Person 2 is super embarrassed. In the end, Person 2 learns how to swim, but at what cost?Basically Nicole (accidentally) nearly drowns Waverly, so they have a nice emotional chat, before Nicole decides to teach Waverly how to swim.
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	It was an accident.

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyyy. I just kinda found this on my computer. I wrote it months ago and figured why not just post it. it came from a prompt, but i can not for the life of me remember where i got said prompt. However, it is pretty obvious I did not finish this (in relation to the prompt), but it still makes sense so I am posting it anyway.
> 
> ALSO, my Wynsita fic is getting a part 2, I promise,I am just dealing with a lot right now, so I can not give you a definitive answer as to when that is, sowwy :(

**Person 1 teaching Person 2 how to swim, after they stated they knew how to swim and Person 1 yeeted them into the pool. Person 1 now feels like they’re obligated to teach them how to swim, although Person 2 is super embarrassed. In the end, Person 2 learns how to swim, but at what cost?**

It was an accident. It was supposed to be funny. It was supposed to be fun. How was Nicole supposed to know that she couldn’t swim?!

So, she threw her. Jokingly!

They were giggling like little kids over something stupid as they reached the edge of the pool. At the time it seemed like a great idea. God, she would beat herself up over this later.

Nicole started tickling Waverly. She couldn’t help it. Her laugh was just so infectious. She tickled her and then……. well.

Nicole picked her up from the waist. Waverly was shrieking (in a laughing way!) and kicking her legs (while simultaneously laughing).

Nicole had always been mesmerised by how light Waverly really was. She was a fully grown woman, yet Nicole could carry her with ease. She was genuinely concerned during the first month of their relationship. Waverly had gotten used to constantly reassuring her that she had in fact eaten three solid meals each day. Waverly did eventually bring it up in conversation, finally easing Nicole’s anxiety, reassuring her that she was perfectly healthy.

She picked up her angel, tickling her waist, it all happened so fast. Waverly started to say something, but Nicole couldn’t really make it out what she was attempting to say. She realised after…

Between fits of laughter, Waverly had attempted to finally come clean to Nicole about her inability to do something so simple… swim.

But it was too late, Nicole threw the younger girl into the deep end of the empty outdoor pool. It was late and dark. Pool lights were illuminating the pale tiles. Nobody else seemed to be swimming in the communal hotel pool. To be fair, it was technically closed….

Yes, the one and only Nicole Haught was breaking the rules. Climbing a fence in a bikini at 2am so they could swim alone. Thinking about it now, Nicole realised that Waverly had been adamant that they would swim in the shallow end. Nicole was sure it was so it would be easier for…. other activities they might want to do... but now it all seemed so obvious.

Waverly seemed okay at first … maybe for a millisecond.

Nicole instantly noticed something was wrong.

Waverly flailed her arms around helplessly, her head submerging under the water completely.

Nicole dived into the water, barely making a splash. She quickly pulled Waverly into her arms, making sure she was no longer inhaling the chlorine filled pool water.

Waverly wrapped her arms tightly around Nicole’s neck, her legs wrapping themselves around her waist. A spluttering sound came from the depths of her throat, followed by a concerning cough. She sounded as though she was hacking up a lung. Her body contracting and muscles tensing with each movement. It sounded like she suddenly became a chain smoker.

Nicole slowly swam to the edge of the pool, keeping Waverly above the surface. Her brain was going three thousand kilometres a second. They eventually reached the edge of the pool, Nicole pulling Waverly out like it was nothing. She sat in Nicole’s lap, spluttering and trying to catch her breath. Nicole held her loosely, terrified that she would hurt her angel again. Nicole’s eyes became glossy. They didn’t speak for at least ten minutes.

Waverly broke the silence. Her breathing had mostly fixed itself. She sat in Nicole’s lap, staring at the still water in front of her. “I can’t swim,” Waverly visibly cringed at how hoarse her voice was. She cleared her throat before continuing, but it made her raw throat hurt more. “I was going to tell you, but I was embarrassed. I’m sorry.” Waverly leaned her head back against Nicole’s shoulder, but pulled it forward again when Nicole tensed even more. She finally turned her head towards Nicole and saw the constant stream of tears leaking from her eyes. Waverly parted her mouth slightly in shock.

“Nicole-”

“You’re sorry?” Nicole sniffed loudly before continuing; pawing at her face and hoping that by sheer force of will, she would stop crying. (She didn’t)

“You’re sorry?! Waverly, I could have- I.” at this point her tears were bothering her so much that she had to stop talking for a minute, trying to get her body to stop having emotional reactions.

“Waverly, I am so _fucking_ sorry.” Her body didn’t listen, her voice cracked and a whole new wave of tears burst out of some deep place inside her.

Waverly pulled Nicole’s face closer, wiping her tears away, holding her wet body closer to her, whispering in Nicole’s ear. Attempting to ease her anxiety, reassuring her that she was okay.

Eventually, Nicole noticed what was happening and pulled back suddenly. “No. I don’t know why I’m crying, you’re the one who- you, I did the” Nicole’s words refused to form.

“Hey, Nicole, it’s okay to be sad. You’re allowed to have feelings.” Waverly tried to get closer to Nicole as she spoke, but Nicole wasn’t having any of it.

“No. I don’t know why I did … that, I didn’t, I” Nicole let out a groan of frustration because her inability to speak. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, while pulling her legs closer to her chest. Her chin rested dumbly on her knees. Her gaze was directed right in front of her, inadvertently avoiding Waverly’s eyes. Waverly slowly took Nicole’s soggy hand. She held it tightly. They both stared in front of them, neither person knowing what to say.

After at least thirty minutes of silence, Waverly broke the silence once again.

“I was embarrassed. I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed and scared that you would think it was weird. So, I lied. I told you I could swim. It sounds stupid now.”

“It _is_ stupid.” Nicole mumbled.

“Wow, okay then.” Waverly dropped Nicole’s hand, instantly missing her touch.

“It is stupid that you think that I would even care that you couldn’t swim!” Nicole turned towards Waverly. “Wait. You thought that I would judge you?”

Waverly didn’t reply, she just looked away.

“oh.” Nicole seemed obviously hurt. Her face dropped. Her arms wrapped around herself.

“It’s not that. I just, you, you had the perfect childhood. I didn’t. My parents never taught me this … stuff. I didn’t-” She stopped speaking when she noticed Nicole’s facial expression. Her jaw had completely dropped, almost comically.

“I had the perfect what?” Nicole whispered.

“Childhood?” Waverly replied, obviously puzzled.

“Waverly, my parents were _shitheads_. Like, think of the biggest shithead you know – think of Champ – and multiply that by a gazillion and you aren’t even close to how shitty my parents were.”

Waverly’s eyes were open unfathomably wide. She whispered a response. “What?”

“I raised myself.” Nicole started picking at her nails, pulling at her thumb nail and ripping it, pulling skin and blood with it. She grimaced slightly before continuing. “They would leave. Without warning. For _weeks._ They would usually forget to leave me money for food. I didn’t have proper meals most days.”

Things started clicking into place for Waverly.

“I learned how to swim when I was six. They brought me on one of their stupid hippy adventures …. and it ended shitty. I hid under a canoe for over an hour. It was high-tide, I had to work out how to wade or I would have drowned.”

It was Waverly’s turn for a comical expression. “It’s just, you’re so, _put together_.”

“Yeah and no thanks to my parents. They don’t deserve that credit. _I_ do.” Nicole heard her voice break again.

Waverly slowly inched her way towards Nicole, pulling her into a hug. Nicole mumbled into Waverly’s shoulder. “You know, I’m not really that put together. My parents gave me red hair and a killer anxiety disorder.”

“Yeah, I know.” Waverly breathed.

Nicole had the audacity to look confused. Waverly laughed breathily.

“You can hide it from other people, but I see it. When we go into crowded places, you go quiet. You pick at your nails or hold yourself when you get really anxious. You never ask anyone for help, like you’re afraid of what they’ll say or think. You have this big confident demeaner, but I think that’s just there so you can hide behind it; so that you can pretend that you are okay. I think that something or somebody broke you. And ever since then, you don’t think that you can trust yourself you don’t think that your opinion is valid. So, you judge yourself off of what other people think of you. You are always looking for possible danger and activating your fight or flight responses. And that makes you a great cop, but it affects you mentally, I know it does.”

“I’m sorry-” Wavery interrupted Nicole quickly, before she could finish her thought, let alone her apology.

“And there is also that! You apologise constantly, over things that aren’t your fault or are out of your control! It’s like; it’s like you are afraid that I will run away if you make even the tiniest _human_ mistake!” there was a few seconds of silence before Waverly continued.

“Nicole I’m not going to run away.” Nicole closed her eyes as tight as she could, trying to hold in all of her emotions. “I know it took a while for me to get here, but I’m here now, and I will stay. I am here and I stay.”

Well here we go again. Apparently, all sense of composure left this time. These weren’t just tears; these were ugly tears. Nicole was ugly crying (snot and all) into a beautiful woman’s (that she had only started dating a few months ago) shoulder. Waverly held her tightly, pressing light kisses to her damp hair.

“Nobody” _heavy breathing and sniffing interrupted Nicole’s attempt at speaking._ “Nobody’s ever n-noticed b-b-before.”

“Nicole you waited until 2am so we could swim alone.”

…

“Y-yeah, but that was also f-for other stuff …”

Waverly laughed her glorious laugh directly into Nicole’s ear and all things in the world seemed to right itself.

Comfortable silence filled the air as Nicole finally managed to right her breathing. She calmed herself down like she always had to, but this time she had Waverly’s arms holding her, helping her. It was apparently Nicole’s turn to break the silence.

“Swimming.”

“What?”

“Swimming, we’re doing it.”

Waverly was perplexed, to say the least.

“Nicole, I can’t ….”

Nicole directed her head towards Waverly and looked directly into her welcoming eyes. “That’s why I’m going to teach you.”

“Get in, we’ll start in the shallow end and make our way to the deep end.”


End file.
